Joan Navarre delivered a lecture entitled, 'The Tinned Dinner Party: Edward Heron-Allen's Curious Celebration of Food in the First World War' at the British Scholar's Fourth Annual Conference at the Harry Ransom Center, the University of Texas at Austin on 31 March 2011.

April

The Chairman will be giving a talk entitled, 'The Singular Life of Edward Heron-Allen' to the Waterlooville U3A at St. George's Hall, Waterlooville, Hampshire, on Wednesday 27 April 2011.

May

The Society's Newsletter No.18 was published. Articles included: 'The Plausibility of Edward Heron-Allen's Duelling Affair' by John P. Mahoney; 'Flappers, British Empire Leaguers and Foraminiferists on Clare Island in 1911' by Timothy J. McCann; 'Edward Heron-Allen, Oscar Wilde and the Ring of Death' by Timothy J. McCann; and 'A Fatal Fiddle: Fiction: Sound and Silly: A Book Review' by John P. Mahoney.

June

The Society's Eleventh Annual Symposium was held on Saturday 25 June 2011 at the Royal College of Music, Prince Consort Street, London, when the theme was 'Edward Heron-Allen and Music'. Papers delivered included: 'Edward Heron-Allen's visit to Downside in 1886' by Timothy J. McCann; 'Edward Heron-Allen as a Music Critic' by Peter Horton; 'Edward Heron-Allen and his Family' by Bill Coleby; and 'The Resurrection of the Edward Heron-Allen Violin No.2, modelled after the Joseph Guanerius Del Gesu 1734, ex-Sainton' by John P. Mahoney. Benjamin Norris, accompanied by Craig Greene, played Mozart's Violin Sonata in E Minor and four of Shostakovich's preludes from 24 Preludes, Opus 34, arr. Tsyganov, for violin and piano, on the Guarneri violin made by Heron-Allen and then played the four Preludes again on Heron-Allen's other violin (modelled after Stradivarius).

July

The Society's Opusculum XVI was published, entitled 'Edward Heron-Allen, Archaeology and Local History'. The Opusculum, edited by Timothy J. McCann and John E. Whittaker, published the proceedings of the Tenth Heron-Allen Symposium at West Sussex Record Office in Chichester in July 2010, including: 'Edward Heron-Allen and the Geology of Selsey' by David Bone; 'Edward Heron-Allen and the Quaternary Geology of the Manhood Peninsula. A View from the 21st Century' by Martin Bates; and 'Edward Heron-Allen, L.F. Salzman and "The Mound" at Selsey, 1911' by Timothy J. McCann.

The Society organised a trip to Clare Island, off the west coast of Ireland from 14 to 16 August 2011 to commemorate the visit by Edward Heron-Allen and Arthur Earland in 1911 as part of the original Clare Island Survey. Society members stayed at O'Grady's Guest House on Clare Island, enjoyed guided walks around the island looking at all the archaeological features and visted the Abbey and the Lighthouse. Talks were givem by Tim Collins on 'Praeger and the Natural History Societies in Ireland' and by Tim McCann on 'Flappers and Foraminiferists on Clare Island'. We were able to visit Granuille's Castle and McCabe's, where Heron-Allen stayed in 1911, and reconstruct some of his photographs. We were richly entertained by the islanders and at the Bayview Hotel and O'Grady Guest House.

September

On 2 September, "Yesterday" (Channel 12) showed, as part of their series entitled "Museum Secrets", a film on The Natural History Museum, London. It featured Edward Heron-Allen and the 'Purple Sapphire' and included interviews with both Ivor Jones and John Whittaker about the 'cursed stone'. Some of the programme can still be seen on the internet. For the full interview with John Whittaker, go to 'Museum Secrets', then 'Episode 5 - Cursed Amethyst' and he can be seen in the video segment entitled 'unexplained evidence'. Unfortunately John is cited as a curator named Richard Savin!

October

On Friday 28 October in the Flett Theatre, The Natural History Museum is hosting a conference to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the birth of Charles Davies Sherborn entitled: 'Anchoring Biodiversity Information from Sherborn to the 21st Century and beyond'. Edward Heron-Allen was a contemporary of his and spent many years striving to obtain copies of all the books and references listed in Sherborn's 'A Bibliography of the Foraminifera, Recent and Fossil, from 1565-1888', published in 1888. The latter's beautiful bookplate was described and illustrated by Clive Jones in our Opusculum VII. A recent article in the Telegraph and the NHM house journal Evolve begins the celebration of Sherborn in this anniversary year.

The Society's Opusculum XVII was published, entitled 'Le Gallienne versus Heron-Allen Incident' by John P. Mahoney and Barbara P. Mahoney. The Opusculum included talks delivered at the ninth and tenth Heron-Allen Symposiums at the Natural History Museum, London, July 2009 and West Sussex Record Office, Chichester, June 2010.